1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling the humidity amount from a humidifier and a humidifying system thereof according to an illuminance and a temperature sensed inside a room in which a humidifying operation is applied.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, at home or in offices, cooling or heating equipments, for example air-conditioners, motor fans, boilers and heaters, etc. are operated in order to adequately maintain an indoor temperature which changes according to a season and an outside temperature. When air inside a room becomes dry by the cooling or heating equipment and if the dried air stimulates respiratory organs of people, various kinds of disease including a respiratory disease can be generated.
Especially, when various electric appliances, for example, television sets, personal computers, refrigerators, air-conditioners, video cassette recorders and audio reproducing systems, etc. are installed and used in homes or offices, the heat which is generated by operation of the electric appliances increases the indoor temperature while decreasing the indoor humidity. Such dry air can injure people's health and can generate a fatal influence upon the health of children and the old. Accordingly, humidifiers are one of the various means which maintain an indoor humidity at a desired level to support an agreeable environment inside the room.
The humidifier changes water which is filled in a humidifying chamber into minute particles by a vaporizing process and continuously discharges the water vapor to the space inside the room. Accordingly, the indoor humidity is controlled to within the range which a user desires.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,224 which is granted to Adrian O. Rule III discloses a method for minimizing the use of energy by adopting the principle that the relative indoor humidity and temperature is maintained within a precise range and moisture is added all the time. Rule III's humidifying apparatus achieves a substantially uniformed distribution of the air throughout the space by circulating a predetermined volume of air through the control space. In addition, it thoroughly mixes into the main stream a small portion of makeup air at a controlled humidity and temperature level to return the main stream to about the desired temperature and humidification levels and selectively cooling the main stream of air with makeup air mixed without stripping any moisture therefrom. Also, it adds moisture to the mixed air flow stream to bring the humidification level up and provides moving force to the air stream immediately subsequent to moisture addition to uniformly distribute the moisture throughout the air stream.
However, the above conventional humidifier executes a humidifying operation in a normal humidification mode which the user selects before sleeping even though the user turns off the light to sleep. In addition, in case of a humidifier which uses both a heater humidifier which heats water by a heater to execute the humidifying operation and an ultrasonic humidifier which heats water by using an ultrasonic vibrator to execute the humidifying operation, the user selects and executes either a heater humidification, an ultrasonic humidification or the heater humidification in combination with the ultrasonic humidification after considering the indoor temperature condition. Accordingly, the conventional humidifiers cannot provide an agreeable sleeping environment while the user sleeps and also the user can catch a cold or can have his respiratory organs injured while the user is sleeping or is awake inside rooms where air does not have an agreeable level of the humidity.